Eco Friendly Napa: Food, Activity and Wine (Obviously)

I spent last weekend soaking up the loveliness that is Napa Valley. We stayed in the charming town of Yountville and enjoyed it to the fullest.

Napa is gorgeous all year-round but the spring and fall months tend to be the busiest. If you’re in need of lots of some wine and relaxation, I’d consider it for your next vacation.

Here are my eco friendly Napa recommendations:

 

Explore Napa:

One of my favorite things to do when traveling is aimlessly wander and see what I stumble upon. In Yountville, its super easy to do just that. The town is small and walkable. I took a jog my first morning there to take in the beautiful hills and quaint shops.  I happened upon parks, a greenhouse, and shops opening for the first wine tasting of the day (yes, at 8:30am!)

Outdoor lovers will savor Yountville – especially those traveling from the very different landscape of the East Coast. The vibe is so laid back and friendly: every jogger and walker I passed took a second to smile and say hello. (A nice reprieve from us city-dwellers who tend to avoid stranger eye-contact.)

Overall, Yountville embodied the eco friendly Napa feel for me.

Sustainable Napa Shops:

The V Marketplace offers a variety of specialty shops including clothing, jewelry  and fine-art boutiques. There’s also gourmet chocolate and cheese spots. And, naturally, a great wine shop offering daily wine-tastings.

Several restaurants with outdoor seating and pretty views are within the marketplace perimeter.

Dine locally in Napa:

The bay area is often touted as the capital of the local food movement so there are plenty great options for eco-minded foodies.

While there are several choices to spotlight, my #1 eco friendly restaurant in Napa recommendation goes to Lucy at the Bardessono hotel.  I did a quick search for a few farm-to-table, sustainable restaurants and found Lucy.  As good as the menu sounded online, this restaurant exceeded my expectations in terms of both food and atmosphere. The menu is focused on the garden-to-table concept. Lucy Chef Scargle strives to grow every ingredient possible on their on-site garden. The farm also provides vegetables to the very famous French Laundry restaurant.

To start, we sampled 3 different garden salads. The freshly dug carrot salad is a must try! For my entrée I chose the local petrale sole, and it was delicious and so fresh-tasting. I decided dessert was a must and the zero dark chocolate thirty is as rich as it sounds. But the portion size was small enough to devour and not be rolled home. I also really enjoyed a local Yountville Sauvignon Blanc that I can’t recall the name of (ooops.)

Drink local wine in Napa:

Finally, the wine. There are SO many options here that I’ll stick to listing a few of the wineries I’ve enjoyed.

• Del Dotto. Why? The cave tour is awesome and the pours are very, very generous.
• Rutherford Hill. Why? Knowledgeable tour guides, pretty campus and picnic tables available for lunch.
• Nickel and Nickel. Why? The cabernet! Oh, and the winery is really charming, too.
• Opus One. Why? Interesting behind the scene tour where you learn about their philosophy behind “one wine a year.”

Stay: 

We stayed at the Villagio Inn & Spa and while I don’t have anything to report in the area of sustainability, it was a lovely place. The staff was friendly and accommodating, the pool and the spa were delightful.

Readers, have you tried touring Napa? Any eco friendly Napa finds?